ECONOMIC STIMULUS. UTA had a $616.8 million impact on the Arlington-Fort Worth economy in the 12 months ending Aug. 31, 2004, while supporting 10,797 jobs, according to a study commissioned by The University of Texas System. The report shows that more than $197 million of that was in personal income. The assessment of the University’s effect on the regional economy was part of a system-wide study conducted by the Institute for Economic Development at UT San Antonio. The report concluded that the system’s nine academic and six health care institutions combined added $12.8 billion—more than $4 billion of that in personal income—to the Texas economy last year. Initial direct spending in such areas as operations, salaries, capital expenditures and student spending accounted for $402.1 million of UTA’s impact on the area. The study noted that when that money was “recirculated” through the economy, the impact grew to $616.8 million. The complete report is at www.utsystem.edu.

A REEL ACCOMPLISHMENT. Art Professor Andy Anderson’s film Drive-by Shooting was part of a major international exhibition at the Australian Center for the Moving Image in Melbourne, which ended in February. The exhibit, “Proof: The Art of Seeing with One’s Own Eyes,” focused on how people negotiate reality through the moving image. Anderson’s work has appeared at the Museum of Modern Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, San Francisco International Independent Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Dallas Museum of Art, Moscow Film Festival and numerous other places. He has written and directed four independent feature films and written for Universal, Paramount Pictures, Hyperion Pictures and Eddie Murphy Productions.

SOCIAL PROGRESS. The latest U.S. News & World Report survey ranks UTA’s graduate social work program among the top 20 percent in the nation. The School of Social Work ranked 33rd out of 170 accredited graduate programs. The magazine notes that UTA has the top-ranked, non-flagship public social work school west of the Mississippi.
 
THE MIDAS TOUCH. The Shorthorn was the only college newspaper in Texas to win two Gold Crown awards for general excellence for papers published in fall 2003 and spring 2004. The Gold Crown is the highest award given by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. The Shorthorn was one of six college newspapers in the United States to win the Gold Crown. This is the second consecutive year and the sixth time in its history that The Shorthorn has received the prestigious honor. The awards were presented in March at the National College Spring Media Convention in New York City. In other awards news, the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors named The Shorthorn as the state’s best university and college daily newspaper at its annual spring meeting in Corpus Christi. The newspaper received the Sweepstakes Award from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association in April. The award is the highest honor given by TIPA, the state’s largest organization for college media. Also in April, Renegade, UTA’s student magazine, was named best magazine by the Society of Professional Journalists, Region 8.

IRISH FOR A SEMESTER. School of Urban and Public Affairs Dean Richard Cole spent fall 2004 in Belfast, Ireland, as a Fulbright Scholar. Dr. Cole lectured at Queen’s University and throughout the United Kingdom on lessons learned from governance in the United Kingdom and the European Union. Established in 1946, the Fulbright is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program.

INFORMATION CHIEF. Suzanne Montague was named vice president of information technology and chief information officer in May. She had served as interim vice president of information technology for 18 months. Montague holds a master of business administration degree from UTA in information systems and a bachelor’s degree from UT Austin in mathematics and French. She began her career at UTA in 1982 as a systems analyst. In 2000, she became the director of business computing services and in 2002 became the assistant vice president for information technology.